Many in Southcentral Alaska awoke this morning to yet another unsettling jolt, this time in the magnitude 4.6 range. There have been about 2,000 aftershocks since Friday morning’s magnitude 7.0 quake and the almost immediate and major aftershocks. As the cleanup and rebuilding from last week’s quake continue, the aftershocks are a constant reminder how […]

At noon today, Mike Dunleavy becomes Alaska’s governor, the 12th since statehood in 1959, and Kevin Meyer, its lieutenant governor. It is a time of great promise. In the recent hard-fought election campaign, the two Republicans promised more responsible government, without the shadow of an economy-busting income tax. They promised to reduce government’s size and […]

In the wake of Anchorage’s worst earthquake since 1964, we find ourselves in awe of the first responders who in an instant moved to protect life and property and keep the city running despite the complexities and problems the aftermath of such a disaster presents. The police, firefighters, pubic works guys, plumbers, utility electricians, construction […]

Looking for a good example of why people do not trust their governments? You need look no further than the story beneath the headline “How an effort to fund Anchorage’s downtown flowers for the long term fizzled” in the Anchorage Daily News. In 2010, gardeners, downtown merchants and city officials trying to ensure funding for […]

If you can say anything about former President Barack Obama, you can say he has a robust sense of humor. Take, for instance, his talk before Rice University’s Baker Institute, where he took credit for the United States emerging during his administration as the largest oil and gas producer in the world. That from perhaps […]

Although we really, really want to believe Alaska’s elections are completely, totally and without a doubt on the up-and-up it is getting increasingly difficult to do so. The Alaska Division of Elections has certified the 2018 general election results – including those from House District 1, which ended in a 2,661-2,661 tie between Republican Bart […]

It is with more than a little dismay that we hear of Anchorage Assemblywoman Amy Demboski’s decision to leave her city post to join Gov.-elect Mike Dunleavy’s administration as a deputy chief of staff. Her job, working for Chief of Staff Tuckerman Babcock, will be in the area of operations and the budget, she says. […]